568th Strategic Missile Squadron
Encyclopedia
The 568th Strategic Missile Squadron is an inactive United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
unit. Its last was assigned to the 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing, stationed at Larson Air Force Base
Larson Air Force Base
Larson Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located five miles northwest of the central business district of Moses Lake, in Grant County, Washington. After its closure, the airport was operated as Grant County International Airport.-History:Larson Air Force Base was named in...
, Washington. It was inactivated on 25 March 1965.
History
Activated in early 1943 as a B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomb squadron, trained under Second Air ForceSecond Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
. Deployed to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during July 1943, assigned to VIII Bomber Command
VIII Bomber Command
The VIII Bomber Command is an inactive United States Army Air Forces unit that is better known as the later appellation Eighth Air Force, as was popularized in post-World War II filmsand is frequently called the First Eighth Air Force by its veterans and successors in the services.The command was...
as a strategic bombardment squadron. Participated in the air offensive over Nazi Germany and Occupied Europe until German capitulation in May 1945. Personnel demobilized in England and returned to the United States; squadron reassigned to Second Air Force
Second Air Force
The Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
and was programmed to be re-equipped with B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
es for deployment to Pacific Theater. Japanese capitulation led to units inactivation in August 1945, being neither manned or equipped.
Activated in the postwar Air Force Reserve as a B-29 squadron in 1947. Inactivated due to budget reductions in 1949.
Reactivated in 1961 as a Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
HGM-25A Titan I ICBM launch squadron. On September 28, 1962, SAC placed the 568th Strategic Missile Squadron on operational status. Squadron was deployed in a 3x3 configuration, which meant a total of nine missiles were divided into three bases. Each missile base had three ICBM missiles ready to launch at any given time.
On November 19, 1964, Defense Secretary McNamara announced the phase-out of remaining first-generation SM-65 Atlas and Titan I missiles by the end of June 1965. Consequently, the Titan Is of the 568th SMS were removed from alert status on January 4, 1965. The last missile was shipped out on February 8th. The Air Force subsequently deactivated the squadron on March 25th.
Missile sites were later sold off to private ownership after demilitarization. Today the remains of the sites are still visible in aerial imagery, in various states of use or abandonment.
Lineage
- Constituted 568th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy) on 15 January 1943
- Activated on 26 January 1943
- Inactivated on 28 August 1945
- Redesignated as 568th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) on 28 January 1947
- Activated in the reserve on 27 February 1947
- Inactivated on 27 June 1949
- Redesignated 568th Strategic Missile Squadron, and activated, on 24 October 1960
- Organized on 1 April 1961
- Inactivated on 25 March 1965
Assignments
- 390th Bombardment Group, 26 January 1943-28 August 1945
- Second Air ForceSecond Air ForceThe Second Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Air Education and Training Command . It is headquartered at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi....
, 27 February 1947 - Tenth Air ForceTenth Air ForceThe Tenth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Reserve Command . It is headquartered at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas....
, 1 July 1948-27 June 1949. - Strategic Air CommandStrategic Air CommandThe Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
, 24 October 1960 - 4170th Strategic Wing, 1 April 1961
- 462d Strategic Aerospace Wing, 1 February 1963-25 March 1965
Stations
- Geiger Field, Washington, 26 January 1943
- Great Falls Army Air Base, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, 6 June-4 July 1943 - RAF FramlinghamRAF FramlinghamRAF Framlingham is a former World War II airfield in England. The field is located 3 miles SE of Framlingham in Suffolk.-USAAF use:...
(AAF-153), EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, 26 July 1943-6 August 1945 - Sioux Falls Army Air Field, South DakotaSouth DakotaSouth Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, 14–28 August 1945 - Lowry Field, ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, 27 February 1947-27 June 1949 - Larson AFB, Washington, 1 April 1961-25 March 1965
Aircraft and missiles
- B-17 Flying Fortress, 1943–1945
- B-29 SuperfortressB-29 SuperfortressThe B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
, 1947–1949 - SM-68 TitanSM-68 TitanThe SM-68 Titan was the designation for two American intercontinental ballistic missiles, which were members of the Titan family of rockets...
I Missile 1961-1965
- Operated three missile sites: (1 Apr 1961-25 Mar 1965)
- 568-A, 8 miles N of Schrag, Washington 47°11′16"N 118°49′22"W
- 568-B, 4 miles SSW of Warden, Washington 46°55′00"N 119°03′17"W
- 568-C, 6 miles SE of Frenchman Hills, Washington 46°54′26"N 119°45′19"W